Murphy Oil (MUR) reaches a deal to build gas stations at over 200 Wal-Mart (WMT) supercenters in the Midwest and South. It expects the buildout to be finished within 3 years. In August, the companies teamed up for a gas discount promotion involving existing Murphy stations at Wal-Mart stores.

Murphy Oil (MUR+1.2%) enters a share-repurchase agreement with J.P. Morgan Chase to buy back $250M of its common stock, part of MUR's authorized program to buy back up to $1B of its shares. All MUR shares delivered under the accelerated share-repurchase transaction will be immediately retired.

Bond issuance from investment-grade companies has reached $109B so far this month, a record for November. Disney (DIS), Murphy Oil (MUR) and six others are the latest to take advantage of low rates and high demand, selling $10.15B worth of debt yesterday. Murphy is an example of a company that raises debt to fund buybacks and/or dividend payouts ahead of an expected hike in dividend taxes next year.

Murphy Oil (MUR) says a well drilled off the shore of the Republic of the Congo was unsuccessful and has been plugged and abandoned; the cost of the well in the Mer Profonde North permit area totals $48M and will be expensed in Q4. MUR also says it has expanded its presence in the Browse Basin exploration area off the coast of Australia.

Murphy Oil (MUR) agrees to purchase interests in Shell lands and take over as operator of Shell assets in the Seal Lake area of Alberta; the purchase price was not disclosed. The transaction brings MUR's acreage in the area to more than 331K net acres with total production of ~9K boe/day.

Murphy Oil (MUR) should explore various options, including a possible sale, Oppenheimer's Fadel Gheit says, believing recent steps to improve shareholder value - such as a $1B buyback authorization and U.S. retail spinoff plans - make it more attractive on an ongoing basis.

Murphy Oil (MUR) is optimistic it could finalize an offshore production sharing contract with Equatorial Guinea by early 2013. MUR, which already produces African oil from its offshore Azurite field in the Republic of Congo, is waiting for resolution to a maritime border dispute between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea over its Ntem field.

Moody's is placing Murphy Oil's (MUR) Baa3 senior unsecured ratings on review for a potential downgrade on the back of its announcement of a $1B share buyback program, $500M special dividend and the spin-off of its downstream assets in the U.S. The agency calls it a "notable shift" in financial policy following a long track record of conservative financial leverage.

With Third Point successfully convincing Murphy Oil (MUR) to spin off its U.S. retail business, Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Sankey thinks Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Hess (HES) likely will be next, since "in both cases, investors have major questions over strategy and execution, and both are trading below NAV.” ConocoPhillips (COP) is viewed as a sleeper pick. (also)

Murphy Oil (MUR) begins to get a few downgrades based on valuation after yesterday's 8% bump and 26% rise in the past three months. Barclays reduces shares to Equal Weight, believing an outright sale is unlikely until the retail spin is complete, which is six to nine months away. The firm expects the rally to cool until more clarity arrives on management's strategy on asset divestitures.

Hess (HES+3.8%) shares are strong on Murphy Oil's (MUR+8.8%) move to spin off its U.S. fuel-making business into a new company. Conoco used a similar strategy earlier this year when it spun off its fuels, petrochemicals and pipeline businesses into Phillips 66. HES operates in two segments - exploration and production, and marketing and refining - making it a potential candidate for a spinoff.

Murphy Oil's (MUR+7.8%) move to spin off its U.S. fuel-making and distribution business into a new company could unlock up $5/share in trapped enterprise value, Simmons analysts say, and “could be a sign for more aggressive moves to continue to improve the valuation in shares (more aggressive divestments, for example)." Chalk up at least one item, and maybe two, on Dan Loeb's wish list.